Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards AVANT GRAND N3X pros and cons

It seems trivial, the short stick, but it matters to me.

Seriously, the only reason I ask for a short stick is for appearances. I like the “short-stick look” better. It looks cooler than a fully opened lid held at the edges by a very long stick; which looks a little quaint, and reminds me of the tailcoat & candelabra days.

I guess what I’m really asking is for the grand piano to evolve out of this old “long-stick look”, but some say that the look of the grand piano evolved out of necessity and not style. But is it true, I ask, that the grand piano has to be so ugly because physics, or are they just making this up because they’re too lazy to redesign its looks?

Taste obviously differs from person to person IMHO, grand pianos are probably the most gorgeous things humanity ever created.

You guys, a great deal on a ‘hideous’ N3X @Pianomart:

Wait for it......you can have this used piano for a meager $18,000!

Go for it; it’s a great deal (sarcasm 101).

Honestly, these kinds of listings should be taken down by the authorities in charge because they’re no different than your average “send me your PayPal info...and such” scam!

A new N3X is not worth more than 12\13 K, period; end of sentence!

And now that it’s over 4 years old, perhaps even less.

Indeed $18k is silly, especially with no warranty and used condition from a private seller. You could always ping them with reasonable offers.

https://classifieds.pianobuyer.com/buy-a-piano/view?id=43241

On the pros and cons of the N3X. I purchased this piano a couple of months ago. New, and for a very good price. I am in love with this piano. It's not perfect, more on that below. But it is amazingly responsive in touch and sound. I grew up learning on a Sohmer console, and an early 20th century Steinway 7 foot grand. As a young adult, I purchased a Young Chang 6'1" grand, and replaced that with a Roland digital baby grand, and then stopped playing for almost 30 years. I decided to get back to the piano, motivated by the lockdown, and purchased the N3X, as the Roland action was shot. The N3X is by far my favorite among all of those, and beyond any other I have played. It's extremely responsive, always in perfect tune, physically beautiful, and has five different pianos. And all the piano sounds are amazingly good. In fact, the much vaunted CFX sound is probably my third or fourth favorite among the five. I feel a connection with this instrument that I did not feel with any other piano. The only downside for me is that there is an irritating ringing overtone or after tone, especially on headphones, in the upper register. I'm posting this because there are few sites, other than this one, with written reviews of this great piano.

Yes, it's real, and we have to get used to this ringing overtone, because it is the Yamaha sound.

I hear it while playing a C2X grand piano... Exactly for the same register.
Strangely I don't hear it while playing Yamaha uprights U1 or U3.

My experience with more recent Yamaha grands is that the duplex scaling is more pronounced than on other brands. I don't know if that's adjustable on N3X but If it is, you could ty to adjust that.

Thank you. That sounds right. (I didn't even know about duplex scaling overtones before, but looked it up. The ringing tones I hear are an octave and fifth above the struck notes). The sound is also very pronounced in the Bosendorfer sample. I don't think any of this is adjustable on the N3X. I'll check it out. Otherwise, as the previous poster wrote, I'll just have to get used to it. Thanks again.

Hi BK-FRANK - if you can't adjust the irritating sound away with onboard adjustments, here are some dirty EQ tricks

For the speakers:
- Reposition the piano in the room. Even moving it a few cm will make a difference. This will impact all frequencies but in general moving closer to a corner might also tend to boost bass; moving closer to a wall will also but maybe not as much.

- Adjust the room furnishings a bit. To reduce higher frequencies, close your window curtains, add a thick carpet below and around the piano, add some cloth furniture (or move it around), add a bookshelf (filled with books). Scandinavians love fuzzy rugs on the wall so that is an opportunity to boost the room's Audio & Style Appeal (tm).

For the headphones:
- Consider changing the headphones. Some headphones emphasize the higher frequencies and others emphasize lower frequencies. There is a big difference among some models IMHO. (I prefer open-backed, over-the-ear, lightweight headphones so kindly consider those factors when looking).

- Maybe there is a small EQ box and headphone amp that will allow you to adjust the tone. For example
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TonePocket--ashdown-tone-pocket-bass-headphone-amplifier

These EQ boxes require a separate headphone amp I think
https://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/products/jds-labs-subjective3-equalizer-black
https://www.schiit.com/products/loki

In yard sales, estate sales, Recycle Stores, etc. you can find cheap old 20 band EQ box that crazy audiophiles put in their stereos in the 1980s for $10.

Hello newer player. Thanks so much for the great advice. It's really only with headphones that the overtones are offensive. Ironically, I purchased the Yamaha HPH-MT8 Monitor Headphones, and they accentuate the tones quite a bit more than the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x phones I have. I'll check out open back models, and look into a headphone amp solution. Thanks again!

There are a few headphones that are cheap and popular here, so do a search. If you can try them out beforehand that would be best but maybe a bit difficult with current malware situation.

3-month review of the N3X

I've now owned the N3X for 3 month, and played it for 1-2 hours per day since then, so I thought I'll do a review of what I've experienced so far.
My journey to the N3X was the following:

• I have played my Yamaha GranTouch GT1 (the very first hybrid) for 22 years. It was still playing perfectly, but its sound was getting a little "dull" for me.
• Based on internet reading I had set my mind on the Clavinova 695GP, but although I really liked its sound, playing it for just a minute turned me off completely: The action felt like going though treacle. Too much hard work, and not fun at all.
• Next I tried the N1X. Really loved the action, but its speakers sounded pretty thin. Also the instrument was deemed "ugly" by both me and my partner.
• Also tried the NV10, but its action didn't work for me (but that may be because I've grown up with Yamaha grands). Also, it sounded lifeless from its speakers.
• I tried a Yamaha GC1 Transacoustic grand, but wasn't convinced at all by the transacoustic sound, and by its very high price-tag.
• The N3X then immediately felt both great to play and sounded incredible, and was approved by my partner, so that was it. It was delivered 2 months after I ordered it.

Pros:

• It's the very first digital piano I've played that feels like it has a real personality. Hard to describe, but where other DPs sound like a recording, the N3X has so many dynamic options that it feels like I really can express my own personal "sound" with it.
• The action feels exactly like the Yamaha acoustic grands I've played. Very satisfactory for all piano styles.
• The 4-channel sampling and corresponding speaker setup gives a much better (and more subtle) spatial effect than the usual stereo setup.
• Fractional pedaling with the sustain pedal works incredibly well, and in fact has opened a lot of sound possibilities for me (especially in the music of Debussy and Fauré I'm playing at the moment).
• I actually like and use all 5 piano voices. The default CFX voice is the most dynamic, but the other 4 voices (Bösendorfer Imperial, Bright Grand, Bösendorfer Grand, Pop Grand) are really enjoyable to use.
• The instrument simply looks gorgeous. Sorry to say, but none of the other hybrids of Yamaha or Kawai hybrids would have been accepted in our living room.
• I like that the control panel is completely hidden below the piano.
• I almost never use headphones, but prefer to play at night on low volumes. The instrument still feels pretty dynamic at these low volumes.

Cons

• Startup time is a little long, around 10 seconds until you can play, which sometimes feels like an eternity.
• Settings like piano voice and reverb are not remembered between power-ups.
• The sustain pedal feels very stiff. It certainly allows for very subtle half-pedaling, but takes some getting used to.
• The binaural headphone voice makes me slightly nauseous. But maybe it's because I almost never use headphones, so might need some more getting used to.
• The music stand sets the sheet music a little too close to my eyes, compared to an acoustic grand.
• I can't say I notice the TRS (Tactile Response System).

That's an excellent review - thanks for sharing BrokenSymmetry!

Osho

Amen!

Makes me wish I had an N3X.

God Bless,
David

How dare you call the N1X ugly?! It's the most beautiful instrument after the grand piano! But oh well, to each his own

Ugly may be too strong a word, the N1X looks nice enough against a wall. Not so much as a free-standing instrument, though.

Can’t say I disagree.

I've tried the N3X, and yes ... it's gorgeous, both for sight and sound. And feel. If I only had room for one ...

Has anyone tried any VST’s via the internal speakers of the N3X? Interesting to see how they perform with virtual pianos. ☺️

I think it’s all about the speakers’ configuration, and the lack of ‘obstruction’ to the sound that gives the N3X an edge.

‘Upright’ type digitals have the speakers tucked into a cabinet, and the sound is always trying to ‘escape’; hence, escapement ports. With the baby grand form-factor that is not the case, and specifically about the N3X, the top speakers don’t even have grills, so there’s no interference between sound and listener.

Not to mention the rim and lid, and how natural reverberations bounce off of these physical structures.

The price is the problem here.